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Firefighter freed after liar exposed

July 21 2016, 12:01am, The Times

David Bryant emerges from the Royal Courts of Justice with his wife, Lynn, after his conviction was overturned. He had been accused of sex abuse by a man who came forward in the aftermath of the Jimmy Savile affairCathy Gordon/Press Association

A former firefighter jailed for allegedly abusing a 14-year-old boy in the 1970s has had his conviction overturned.

David Bryant, now 66, of Christchurch, Dorset, was released after judges at the Court of Appeal in London described his accuser as a chronic liar.

Mr Bryant, who was 26 at the time of the alleged offence, was accused of attacking Danny Day, then aged 14, in Christchurch fire station after inviting him there to play darts in 1977.

After being found guilty of buggery by a majority verdict, he was jailed for six years, later increased to eight and a half years.

At a previous hearing the judge said that Mr Day was “motivated to come forward in the aftermath of the Jimmy Savile affair”.